Keyblade
by cataclysmic-reactor
Summary: The Darkness rises again, stronger than ever. In a world where strength is paramount can a boy with nothing to his name rise up and fulfill his destiny and even more importantly, does he want to or does he have something else in mind?


"_You know I may not be much of hero, but my friends are counting on me...and sometimes that's what makes all of this worth it." -Sora (Book of Blades)_

**Chapter 1: How it was**

Not much is known about the Keyblade heroes of old. It is said that they came upon the worlds in their greatest hour of need and saved them from being engulfed in the Darkness and sealed that Darkness away to an obscure realm, so that it may never consume life again. They left very little behind when they completed their mission and disappeared into the mists of time. This was the first Keyblade war. Many decades passed and people moved on with their lives, the valor and wisdom of the heroes old was forgotten. The might of the Keyblade became a mere child's tale to occupy the young, innocent minds filled with dreams of far away lands with knights and princesses . So busy were they in their day to day lives that it was far to late till anyone noticed. The Darkness had left it's mark, the heart of life had been tainted.

As it would come to be seen in the scriptures of the old gods, they came upon us as the worlds connected. It was sudden and vastly spread throughout the lands, like a disease until it became a never ending nightmare. The connection of the worlds had allowed for many a wonders, races met and shared the knowledge they had with each other so that the worlds may prosper due to mutual benefit. The connecting of the worlds was a double edged sword though, for it didn't discriminate in it's connection and so the realm of Darkness too was also connected. This allowed for the Darkness, even sealed as it was, to influence the people with it's essence and the taint in their hearts grew. Many lost their hearts to the darkness and it transformed them into monsters, they were grotesque beings. Shells that held inside them nothing but the instinct to regain what they had lost, their hearts. With this the heartless descended upon the worlds and they were plunged in despair once again. .

As the worlds grew more and more desolate, unbeknownst to them, the Darkness grew stronger. Strong enough to finally break the seal placed upon it and ravage the lands to the brink once more. All hope was lost, the world was in need of a savior once more. Again as it happened in the first Keyblade war a band of heroes rose from the embers of the dying worlds, there were enough to create a small army but their strength was comparable to the legion of the Darkness and a fierce war was waged. Many heroes sacrificed their lives and the Darkness was driven into a corner. It culminated into one last battle, the heroes emerged victorious but they didn't know how to destroy the Darkness. The Darkness was sealed back where it came from and the connection with the realm of Darkness was cut off. The place were the Darkness was beaten back was named as Destiny Islands

This was a bittersweet victory, as the heroes quickly found out. The taint of the Darkness was thick in the atmosphere and the people would still turn into heartless, something had to be done. The warriors understood that if this problem was allowed to persist then the Darkness may well return someday but ranks of the Keyblade warriors had been greatly diminished. In response the remaining warriors, that came to be known as masters, set up a base of operations at the sight of their greatest victory. From here they retaliated to the best of their abilities and took on students upon which they departed the blessing of the keyblade and made them the chosen, all seemed to be well for a while. It soon became apparent though that the war had cost the warriors a great deal and while their skills were a match for any of the remnants of Darkness, their numbers couldn't cope.

The warriors were spread thin due to sheer number of areas they had to operate in and while the people of the worlds understood, there were those ungrateful few that couldn't help but raise their voice in dissent. Slowly but surely the people were beginning to doubt the capability of the warriors and whether or not they could properly protect them. The masters themselves were stumped at how to increase their numbers, the keyblade only chose those that were pure of heart and as such the masters couldn't bless everyone. The answer came unexpectedly and surprisingly when the ruins of the old gods were discovered, along with them came the scriptures and a new piece was added to the mystery of the keyblade. While the scriptures contained many a wonders, what seemed most important at that time was a particular scripture that had the recipe for the mass production of the keyblade.

The process was simple and all it required was an array of stones that were available throughout the worlds. This sparked a frenzy in the brightest minds amongst the ranks of the warriors, mines were opened throughout the worlds and the stones were brought in. Both the stones on the recipe and other varieties were brought in. Unfortunately though, nothing but the recipe in the scripture worked and unlike how the keyblade of the chosen took on a form to reflect the weilder's soul, each time the same type of keyblade was produced. It would be decades yet till the secrets of keyblade synthesis would be revealed and a lot more till they would be mastered. All of this didn't matter though, the warriors had the means to fight efficiently now and that had to be enough till a proper infrastructure was set. This keyblade however, and it's weilder's proved to be a lot different than those that were chosen. The combination of the skills that these weilders were taught by the warriors and the augmentation in physical and some magical abilities due to this type of keyblade resulted in a formidable warrior. These new warriors, however weren't quiet at the same level of strength or stamina as the chosen. This mass produced keyblade would eventually come to be known as Kingdom key due to its crown accessory in resting phase and it's wielders would be hailed as the Order of the Kingdom knights. It took a little time but the order was established throughout the worlds, it was all very hierarchical.

A regiment of soldiers was posted in each world with a group of officers from the chosen were appointed to supervise them and as such were held accountable for the protection of the world they were sent to. Destiny islands, meanwhile slowly morphed from a base of operations to a place dedicated to churning out more warriors, this place is now specifically known as the Keyblade Academy. The masters decided that while it was important to have keyblade warriors, it's power and the skills needed to weild it weren't something that the worlds could be trusted with, as such Keyblade Academy was the only institution throughout the worlds that could produce Keyblade warriors and as such it was a major force in both politics and economics. All of this, though significant, was just the backdrop. The wheels of fate had been set into motion many a millennium ago and the end of the worlds was approaching again. This time a single boy and those he would come to call friends was all that would stand against the greatest Darkness, if only he could just graduate first.


End file.
